Phoebe English autumn/winter 2016 collection presentation for LFW

A desolate, grey waiting room was the setting today at the Pheobe English presentation. Eerie, crackly sounds played on the speakers, with voice snippets taken from an automated customer service message. The effect was bewildering, and a little frightening, as each model walked into the room and took a paper ticket from a ticket machine before sitting in a row. One by one, each girl was summoned by a man in the corner, who performed some kind of sartorial “check-up”, straightening hems and such. It was strange, but it kind of made sense.

The clothes were predominantly black with a few exceptions; navy so dark it could almost be mistaken for black and brown. A maroon leather dress was worn only by one model, over a crisp white shirt with fisherman’s knit arm warmers and matching burgundy tights. The look was soft in stark contrast; she stuck out like a sore thumb.

Layering and constructing the fabrics until they couldn’t quite be understood by the naked eye, ruffles and folds and stray parts trailing off of the body created a unique silhouette for each look. There were skirts, dresses, trousers and jackets but they all seemed to merge in an unrecognisable way. Textures created some differentiation between garments: twill, leather and wool.

The models wore tights underneath with mannish brogues and fishnet socks. Half of the girls’ faces were covered in black markings, as though the artist had attacked them with the flat side of a mascara brush, from the nose up. The hair was backcombed, twisted and pinned to the head to create bizarre shapes that perfectly complimented the garments.

Kea Bose
Photos: Krisztian Pinter